Hello music lovers, we are happy to share our dialogue with @DaniDraven 

She is a 2022 Watty Award winner, and her music-themed series Confessions of an Invisible Girl will take center stage today!  

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Who is Dani Draven? Tell us more about yourself. 

Dani Draven is a pen name I created when I joined Wattpad over four years ago. I started writing Confessions of an Invisible Girl a few months later. Joining and writing on Wattpad was a total experiment really, a challenge to see if I could complete a novel. If anyone read it, that would be nice, but I had no expectations so it was a lovely surprise when readers started to vote, comment, and show an interest in the book. I never would have guessed four years later I would have completed four novels and three novellas. Winning a Watty in the sequel category for Secrets of an Invisible Girl was amazing and a total unexpected shock! I was also part of the Bootcamp Mentors program working with Sabrina Blackburry on my romantasy novel Deathless which was a brilliant experience. It was nominated for a Watty and is now in the Paid program and on Yonder. I was also invited to join Wattpad Creators last year. So much has happened since I started on Wattpad, and it's all been a wonderful surprise. The Wattpad community is so encouraging and supportive of each other, which is amazing.

When I'm not writing, I'm usually with my family or working my day job in the television industry. I have a little toddler/tornado and a husband who keep me busy. I'm a Swiftie, cinema lover, generally happiest with my family or watching live music, preferably in a field - I'm a festival girl at heart!

 When did you start writing? What are your favorite genres to write or read?

I've been interested in storytelling for as long as I can remember, but for most of my life, I thought I was pursuing a career in screenwriting. I wrote a few scripts and have done a little work on some children's programmes but it never quite worked out. It wasn't until I made the switch to writing stories and novels that I really found my voice and everything fell into place for me. I knew what I wanted to be doing and I've been writing tirelessly ever since. Everything I write is always at least fifty-percent romance, whether it's a NA fantasy or a YA murder mystery, a love story at the heart is always key for me. I write across so many genres and age groups but my favourite genre is always the one I'm currently writing in! I pretty much read the same genres I write in! I love fantasy and contemporary romances and will always have a soft spot for a good YA love story.

 Do you have a favorite author? If yes, who?

Oh, that's so tough! A quick glance at my Instagram profile would tell you I'm a massive Holly Black fan. I love her characters, I always feel a strong connection to them, they're always so flawed, but their motivations are always so relatable. There's a bit of an edge to her work I really love. The list is so much longer than this but the Bronte sisters, Neil Gaiman, KA Tucker, Nalini Singh, and Helen Hoang are big influences on my writing too.

Your profile mentions you like to eat crisps and watch Netflix in your PJ's. We'd like to know: - What are your favorite crisps?

As long as they're salt and vinegar, I'm good :)

What are your current top three Tv series and movies?

Oh, another tough question... I'm not going to be able to stick to three! I'm currently rewatching the Sons of Anarchy for the millionth time, so that's a pretty solid start. I love shows with characters you root for, even when they're doing terrible things. I do love an anti-hero. Vikings has a similar feel. I loved that series so much I wrote a fantasy novella called The Wolf & The Fox inspired by it.

I love Stranger Things and can't wait for the new series. I don't think there's another show I enjoy binge watching quite so much. You basically have to cancel all your plans for a couple of days when a new series comes out!

Maybe because I write so much YA (sadly, I'm a bit older than that age group!) I tend to hunt out YA TV series and films too. I'm currently enjoying the Shadow and Bone series and still recovering from Netflix canceling the Midnight Club - what a crime!

Film wise Pan's Labryinth is my all-time favourite. Or it is today ;)

Congratulations on your Watty's 2022 win! Do you remember where you were or what you were doing when you received the news? Take us back to your excitement. We want to share it with you.

I was working at home at the time, so all by myself when I heard the news. I'm surprised my neighbours didn't call the police from all the screaming I was doing. It's very strange being that excited all by yourself! I still feel quite shocked about it. The sequels category was new, so when I wrote Secrets of an Invisible Girl, I did it with no intention of entering it. The whole thing is just amazing!

Lola and Lochlan from your book Confessions of an Invisible Girl. What can you tell us about this melt-your-heart couple? Who are they?

I love opposites attract. It is one of my favourite tropes. So there are definitely a lot of differences between them, and I enjoyed playing with that.

At the start of the book, Lola has been bullied, and it's had a massive impact on her confidence, and she's feeling isolated. She's turned invisible by a spell gone wrong, and we find her several years later at sixteen living by herself and just trying to get by. She's very lonely, and has been immersing herself in the lives of others without them noticing. She's developed a crush on Lachlan's brother Billy. At the beginning, she doesn't like Lachlan at all!

Lola's a singer and songwriter, and music is her passion. The bullying took some of this away from her and she's struggled to lose something she loved. She's kind, trusting but has the tendency to take the easy way out, especially if she feels she's doing it to protect someone else. As the series progresses, she gets herself into quite a few scrapes that way.

Lachlan is a boxer and is really focused on his dream to make is as a professional. He's very stubborn, short-tempered but really cares about people though bad experiences have made him push people away. He has a very clear idea in his mind of right and wrong, and that sometimes makes him a little judgemental of other people's actions.

They bring out different qualities in each other. Lola helps Lachlan to trust again and open up. She brings out a lighter, warmer side to him. Lachlan helps Lola to face her problems rather than run from them. They bond through their problems and learn a lot from each other. They both love music, though very different types of music, and learning about each other's musical tastes is one of the ways they connect.

Can you tell us more about the book? 

Confessions of an Invisible Girl is young adult fantasy romance. Lola is a girl trapped by an invisibility spell who lives each day by watching others. She's discovered by Lachlan the brother of a boy she's developed a crush on and (eventually) romance ensues!

It's really a growing up story about facing your fears and falling in love for the first time. Shyness and lacking in confidence can often make you wish you were invisible, and cut yourself off from meaningful experiences and connections. Lola has to choose between fighting to break the spell or accepting a life half-lived.

When I was planning the book, I was expecting it to be a lot lighter than it ended up being. It ended up tackling some quite serious issues like bullying, dyslexia and loneliness. I hadn't expected that. It's still magical and romantic, but Lola goes through a greater journey than I expected. It's still fun (I hope!) it is about an invisible girl after all!

Ellie is a massive part of Lola's life, more than just her older sister. She really is a huge emotional support to her and just knows Lola better than she knows herself. Lola has a difficult relationship with her mum, and Ellie is really the glue that keeps the family together, that helps them understand each other.

Confessions of an Invisible Girl expands into a trilogy. Did you plan on writing three books, or was the story too good you had to keep going?

No! I'm still surprised I completed one! I never started the first book thinking there would be more. For both sequels, it was a combination of missing writing Lola and Lachlan and also feeling like there was more to say with those characters.

I felt like the first book had a sort of fairy tale energy with Lola finding love and breaking a spell and I wanted to explore what happens after that. Secrets of an Invisible Girl was really exploring the idea of 'ever after' and Lola's expectations of what a relationship is versus the reality. I think it's something we all go through. Love is wonderful, but making relationships work is hard. So it's a coming of age tale.

The third book is a bit of crazy one, but it's one of the things I love about Wattpad. It gives you the freedom to experiment and explore ideas. The story is going to surprise people I think! It's set ten years after Secrets of an Invisible Girl and Lola and Lachlan are now adults. Magic in this series is really a metaphor for the wonder that can be found in everyday life and this story explores that more than the other two. Magic can feel in short supply when your an adult and dealing with complexities of living, so this book is really about how hard it is to keep hold of that magic, but also why it's important to do so.

 If Lola and Lochlan were a song, what would it be? You can share with us up to three songs if choosing one is difficult : )

This is such a tough question and I've been rummaging around my many, many Invisible Girl playlists to answer this! I always used music to inspire the tone and atmosphere in my books, it's especially important for Lola and Lachlan who both love music so much. I would say their relationship develops in each book, so my choice of song would change for each one.

The first book is definitely about them meeting and this growing connection between them. Even before their connection turns to love, it's already changing their lives. I think Everything Has Changed by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran sums it up pretty well.

I remember hearing Olivia Rodrigo song Drivers License after I'd outlined the story for Secrets of an Invisible Girl and was so shocked by lyrical similarities with the story I was starting to write. I listened to it a lot when I was writing. It's definitely sums up their relationship at a certain point in the story.

For Scandals of an Invisible Girl it's definitely This Love by Taylor Swift.

Can you share with us a teaser from your third book in the Love & Magic Series

There's so many twists and turns in this book I'd be scared to give anything away! It is set when the characters are in their late twenties, so it will have a bit of a darker storyline but it will still have all the invisible girl magic and romance the readers would expect. I will say that I've tried to bring back as many characters as I can, Billy's story is one I'm really excited about!

One thing my readers have mentioned is my books tend to be tearjerkers and they love the drama of this series! This one will definitely be doing that!

 What can readers expect from your future works?

I have so many ideas, and so many stories planned! I have a sequel to Deathless, my Wattys nominated romantasy coming up, a shifter romance, and a dark fae series in the works, and I'm hoping to launch a second pen name focusing on contemporary romance, and the first novel will be all about musicians! Music has been such a big part of my books I'm excited to write a whole series of popstar romances set between the UK and America.

Music is an important part of Confessions of an Invisible Girl. How does it impact your other works?

Creating playlists and writing to music is a big part of my writing process, but it often plays a big role in characters' lives too. I often use it to connect characters. In What Good Girls Do, my YA contemporary novella playing music and sharing the songs they love is how the characters bond as friends and family. In Prom Night of the Living Dead (which is actually a spin-off from Confessions of an Invisible Girl), music helps the main character Willow get to know Henry better. It's one of the ways she starts to view him differently.